Colliers International Danmark has arranged the sale of a portfolio of industrial and logistics properties for a total sum of DKK 150 mill.

January 4, 2013

The properties were owned by a British fund (EB8), which has chosen to withdraw from Denmark.

The settlement of the portfolio was handed over to Colliers in late summer 2012 and René Neesgaard has handled the task. After preparation of sales material, the properties were offered in early September with a primary focus on individual sales. The success was complete when the last property was sold on December 29, four months after the offering started.

The properties are all industrial and logistics properties with a high occupancy rate, several fully let. The properties are located throughout the country in cities like Glostrup, Brøndby, Odense, Kjellerup, Vejle, Kolding and Esbjerg. The largest concentration was in Esbjerg with three properties of over 50,000 square meters. These three properties have all originally been used by Vestfrost and were previously owned by Vestfrost. Now the properties are used by several companies; however, Vestfrost remains the largest company in the area. For the first time these three properties are no longer owned by the same investor, as the properties have been sold to three different buyers.

Moreover, it is noteworthy that out of the nine properties, seven were sold to different investors, which is the result of a broad coverage of the market where local knowledge has been utilized to find the right buyers for all properties.

“The rapid sale of the portfolio is due to a structured sales effort adapted to this particular portfolio, the fact that the properties primarily are located in the best commercial areas and with high occupancy rate, and that the offer price is attuned to the risk of this type of property, which, among other, generally do not have any significant security of tenure. Finally, it is significant that most of the properties are located in a price range between DKK 10 -20 million, as a number of investors can buy in this price range without having to rely on external financing,” says René Neesgard, Team Leader of Investment at Colliers in Vejle.

He elaborates: “The short sale period for the portfolio shows that there are opportunistic buyers in the market for properties with a certain amount of risk, when these properties can provide an attractive cash flow for the investors.”